


The Zookeeper's Lament

by love_killed_the_superstar



Series: Roses and Renegades [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Body Horror, Established Relationship, F/F, Gen, Homeworld is Horrible, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, Minor Character Death, Pre-Canon, Pre-Series, Pre-War, Requited Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Spoilers for Steven Universe: Stranded, White Diamond Theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-01 23:37:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13305756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_killed_the_superstar/pseuds/love_killed_the_superstar
Summary: Pink Diamond makes messes. Rose Quartz cleans them up.(Spoilers for SU: Stranded, especially s05e12, Space Moon.)





	The Zookeeper's Lament

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo this starts off as really fucked up and mellows out to some rosepearl action by the end. My apologies in advance for some graphic content that people might find disturbing.  
> Candy and Biggs are two gems I made up for the heck of it, since the famethyst don't exist at this point. I reckon the Zoo was mainly run by a few agates, a group of apatite scientists, and then a mixing pot of quartzes, the biggest percentage being rose quartzes.

Rose Quartz is always having to put humans back together.

Pink Diamond is rough when she visits The Zoo. She plays with them, she dresses them up in court garb and pushes their faces together and feeds them fruit when they clearly do not wish to be filled up anymore. She watches in fascination when they poop, when they mate.

“Humans are so silly,” she laughs, and Rose watches as well, a sick feeling in the pit of her gem as one human, rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, pushes another human out of her. It is small and red and it screams the tiniest scream, and Rose just knows it isn't going to survive longer than a matter of hours while Pink Diamond is visiting The Zoo.

Rose remembers that she was introduced to humans very early in her existence, a matter of days after bursting out of her hole with a beaming smile on her face. She and her cohort were told plainly that it would be their job to spend their time in Pink Diamond's Human Zoo, watching over the humans. There were teams of apatite researchers watching over the humans, running tests on them, while agates strutted around commanding the quartzes in clipped tones, berating Rose for even the slightest curl out of place, or if they heard her giggling at a rude joke her fellow quartzes would make about the agates having gravel up their butts.

But she likes the humans. It is her job to care for them in their times of need, to assist births and deaths, to watch over them when human sicknesses spread so quickly through them. She enjoys seeing them eat the food that the apatites grow, hearing the songs they sing, the way they spoon before they sleep. Humans are such social creatures. When one is injured, vulnerable, disabled, there is no shattering, no labelling one 'defective', no stamp on their record. They care for one another, do a little bit extra to accommodate them, and it warms Rose's very stone to see.

Of course, Pink Diamond cares for no such thing.

“I need a rose quartz!!” she bellows, like she so often does, and it's Rose's turn to run to her aid. In her arms, a human is howling, and to Rose's horror, his limbs are twisted, obviously broken. No matter how many times the rose quartzes explain to Pink Diamond that humans are a lot softer and more fragile than even the weakest of pearls, she ends up breaking them.

“Fix this human,” she instructs, huffing as the human cries and pisses on the ground before her, an instinctive response to his pain. “It is making a mess and the shouting is giving me a gemache.”

“As you wish,” Rose Quartz agrees, giving the quickest of salutes before gently lying the human down in her lap. It's lucky that rose quartzes are created with the gift of healing tears, because she has witnessed a lot of horrific injuries in her time. There have only been three isolated cases that don't have Her Diamond at their core.

She cries, and her tears are genuine. It feels cruel for these humans to suffer at the hands of Her Diamond, even if they are being saved from the destruction of their world by existing in the safety of The Zoo while the gems on Earth are preparing for its colonisation.

She's heard from the agates gossiping that bismuths are already beginning to construct spires and arenas, that peridots are already ordering more quartz soldiers to be created. There's talk that Pink Diamond is overcompensating for being denied a colony for such a startling amount of time. There are whispers that the diamonds are frustrated with her because of her unconventional way of doing things. She is still underdeveloped, gems whisper. She has never done this before. She's making mistakes and focusing on her prized collection of humans instead of overseeing the construction of the colony more thoroughly.

Rose's tears begin to take effect, and as the bones slowly begin to repair themselves, and the limbs begin to take a familiar shape once more, the human's eyes close. He is exhausted, having screamed himself hoarse, and once he is asleep Rose cleans up his mess, puts him into clean clothes and deposits him beside a human with red hair whom she has recognised as being a close compatriot of his. They have had intercourse several times in front of her while she has been on duty, so it makes sense to place him near familiar humans, she reasons.

There is soon more crying. A human wails and reaches up desperately as Pink Diamond holds the newborn baby between thumb and finger. Rose can tell by the way its head lolls that it hasn't survived Pink Diamond's rough handling, and her gem pangs for the poor human mother, who cries and pleads for her baby.

“This one is too small,” Pink Diamond complains, and hands it to Rose. She stares down at it in dismay, before nodding and murmuring, “Yes, My Diamond.”

She takes it away to be disposed of while the mother lies on the floor and sobs like her heart will break.

 

…

 

When Rose's shift ends she retires to the resting quarters, where a biggs jasper and a fellow rose quartz are sat at the foot of her cubby, impersonating their supervising agate a little too loudly for their own good.

“You look like you've had a fracked up shift,” comments Biggs, while Candy nods sympathetically. Biggs is only useful for guarding the doors, being a jasper, but Candy knows exactly what a menace Pink Diamond can be to the humans and Rose dramatically lays her head in Candy's lap, groaning.

“Where should I start? There was the human whose arms and legs she'd practically twisted out of their sockets... the human whom she laughed at giving birth and then broke the baby so bad it died...”

Candy is running fingers through her curls, and her hand freezes.

“I'm sorry,” she murmurs. “Our Diamond... can be very rough with the humans.”

“I had to take the infant away while the mother begged for it back,” Rose mumbles, hiding her face. “Urgh, I feel sick to my gem just thinking about it. Every time I remind her how fragile they are, she...”

“I know,” Candy agrees. “I know, Rose.”

“Stars, that's fracked up,” Biggs comments, shaking her head. “I know we mustn't speak bad of Our Diamond, but... stars. That sounds like a clodding nightmare.”

“It _is_ a clodding nightmare,” Rose groans. “Whenever Pink Diamond visits I feel exhausted. At the beginning of the shift I had to stand next to her _pearl,_ for star's sake, while we watched a human with a stomach virus make a mess of the excretion corner! I feel like I've aged a millennia every time I'm on shift with Our Diamond, honestly...”

Biggs can't help snorting at that, and even Candy giggles.

“What is Our Diamond's fascination with poop?” Biggs asks candidly. “Really, what is it?”

“Not very diamond-like, that's for sure,” Candy says with a roll of her eyes. She pats Rose's shoulder. “But hey, I have some good news for you.”

Rose props herself up on one arm. “Oh really? Spill.”

“I overheard Sagenite Agate talking with Laguna Agate earlier. Apparently, White Diamond is visiting five cycles from now.”

This has Rose's attention. She sits up and squeezes between the two of them.

“Really? Did they say why?”

“Apparently she's heard some negative things about the way The Zoo is being run,” Candy says with a shrug. “She's coming by to conduct some changes to how frequently Pink Diamond visits, and to basically scold her for neglecting the colony.”

“So she'll be here for an extended period?” Rose breathes. It all sounds too good to be true. On the one hand, she's about ready to dissipate from fear, as she so often is when faced with the idea of White Diamond being nearby, ready to shatter her at a moment's notice. On the other hand...

“That's right,” Candy grins. “She'll be bringing her pearl along.”

“And we all know how smitten you are over that pretty thing,” Biggs teases.

Rose wants to correct them (“It's so much more than being smitten” and “Please don't talk about her like she's a fashion accessory” are the first things to come to mind), but then she'd have to explain the whole thing to them. Honestly, she's not sure if they'd even believe her if she did.

 

…

 

Rose has sneaking out of the resting quarters down to a fine art by now. Normally it's difficult to accomplish whenever Pink Diamond is there to visit, but she can hear White Diamond verbally breaking into her from the other side of the base, so there's no chance of either diamonds catching Rose sneaking away without the very least a fair amount of warning.

The agates and citrines have made themselves scarce, wanting to give the diamonds utmost privacy, and it's through this small miracle that Rose makes it to the doors in one piece, where a familiar face is on guard duty.

“Switch with me,” Rose whispers to Candy, who is nearly falling asleep on the job (she's told Rose before that the voice in the earrings is specifically designed to calm humans down, and maybe she's secretly a human since it works so well). Candy knows Rose's plan all too well by now (wolf-whistle at White Diamond's pearl whenever she walks past, hopeful to receive a blink of acknowledgement) and shakes her head in amusement before heading back to the resting chambers.

Rose waits for two more hours, running through everything she wants to say, everything she needs to say in the limited time they have together, before Pearl rounds the corner and Rose forgets how to think altogether.

“Pearl,” she breathes, and the way Pearl's face melts into a bright smile sends shivers through her form. She pulls her into a tight hug, lifting her slightly off her feet, and Pearl hugs back. Her arms feel bony and light, and her hair is different, a desaturated pink.

“Rose, I've missed you,” she says quietly, pressing a gentle kiss against her jaw, and Rose cups her round face in her hands, peers into those wide, intense eyes.

“Did she poof you again?” Rose worries. “What happened?”

“It's nothing bad,” Pearl tries to assure her. “And it's very recent. Pink Diamond, ah, thought my appearance too pale and bland, so, er... White Diamond ordered me to reform differently.”

“You're perfect,” Rose says fiercely, and Pearl blushes the faintest cyan.

“Hardly. Pink Diamond loves to bring up my unconventional gem shape,” she explains, fiddling with her sheer skirt awkwardly.

“You're perfect,” Rose repeats, “just the way you are.”

She kisses the end of Pearl's nose to prove a point, and the tinkling laugh that erupts from her tiny mouth sends sparks through Rose's gem. Oh, this is so much more than being _smitten._

Pearl drinks in every last inch of Rose's face, and her rare smile shifts into a look of concern.

“Rose, are you all right?” she asks, gingerly reaching up and running her thumb over Rose's cheekbone. “You look troubled.”

Rose glances around before ducking into the enclosure, carrying Pearl with her. As the doors shut, Pearl stares at the humans sleeping, clearly a little frightened by being in such close proximity to them.

“Wh-What are we doing in here?” she asks, clinging to Rose a little tighter.

“I didn't want any of the quartzes eavesdropping,” Rose mutters. “These little guys can sleep through a lot.”

Pearl still watches them uncertainly, but after a few moments of silent deliberation, turns her gaze back to Rose.

“I need to do something soon,” she confesses, sitting down so Pearl's bony butt is in her lap. “I have to take action, I just can't take it anymore. What Pink Diamond is doing to these humans... it's too much for me to bear.”

“What is she doing?” Pearl frets. “I know last time you told me she broke one, but-”

“It's not just one,” Rose interrupts, “not that it should matter how many, regardless. I have had to heal bones, stop internal bleeding, nurse humans with brain trauma and sometimes put them out of their misery from the extent of their injuries. A few cycles ago, a human gave birth and Pink Diamond broke the infant just hours later! I... I can't do this anymore. We need to stop her somehow.”

The look on Pearl's face is stricken with horror.

“It isn't just the humans,” she says, so quietly Rose has to hear the crack. “I've – I've met her _pearl,_ Rose.”

Rose thinks back to her shift a few cycles ago, when she had to stand next to a pearl with a pinched face while they watched a human poop excessively. All she had been thinking about was how awkward this was, and _why_ exactly was Pink Diamond making them both watch this too? But the look on Pearl's face makes her gem run cold.

“What about her pearl?” Rose croaks. Pearl's tiny fingers dig into her arm.

“Didn't you notice her gem the last time you saw her?”

She thinks, she really thinks hard about what she saw in those brief glances down at Pink Diamond's pearl. She doesn't remember seeing her gemstone at all.

“No,” Rose says in a tiny voice.

“It's cloudy,” Pearl spits, looking away. “Pink Diamond has destroyed the nacre in her gem through rough housing, o-or chemicals, or something else. As soon as someone points this out to her, Pink Diamond will order her shattered and replaced, and there's _nothing_ she can do about it. Humans aren't the only ones she is destroying, Rose.”

Rose feels sick. She holds Pearl even closer and murmurs, “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.”

“I agree with you,” Pearl says, ever so quietly. “But you can't trust me to do anything, Rose. We hardly see each other as it is, and if My Diamond ever knew-”

“I will protect you with my life,” Rose promises urgently, rocking her a little. The night simulation of the enclosure casts strange shadows on Pearl's gem, and Rose imagines the life that would fade from it if _she_ was cloudy too. “Pearl, take me to Pink Diamond's pearl.”

Pearl tenses up in her arms.

“Wh-Why?” she squeaks. She leans back and regards Rose with a furrowed brow. “I don't understand.”

“I heal the humans all the time,” Rose explains. “One time Biggs chipped herself and I healed that up, too!”

“A-A chip is far different to healing a cloudy gem, Rose, and you know that. There's no way to regain lost luster... And if she finds out about us...” Pearl hesitates.

Rose knows how scared she is, and that what she is asking of Pearl could have both of their gems cracked. But she needs to show Pearl that their little dream, their 'lets escape to Earth and start over' dream is entirely possible. It isn't just about the humans anymore, it's about gems, it's about Rose having to spend her existence carrying dead bodies away from Pink Diamond and Pearl living every moment in fear of being shattered for not being the perfect gem White Diamond wants her to be, it's about the dead look in the bismuths eyes every time they build something that gets knocked down by rowdy quartzes and rubies a few days later, it's about pearls being broken and subjected to beatings and cracking simply for existing. It's about something so fundamental to gemkind everywhere that it hurts to believe in.

“Please, take me to her,” Rose says again, firmly, eyes bearing into Pearl's. “If I can spare her life, we could have a new ally. Someone close to Pink Diamond.”

Pearl frowns.

“Yes, but we can't expect that of her...”

“We'll ask nicely,” Rose promises. “And if she says no, we'll have still saved her life. I want to help _her,_ not just our cause.”

 

…

 

Rose waits behind the wall while Pearl speaks in a low voice to Pink Diamond's pearl. Rose can't hear most of the conversation, but she can hear Pink Diamond's pearl's voice raised slightly, upset and anxious. It grows louder as Pearl gracelessly pulls her by the wrist, and as she is yanked around the corner, Rose gets a proper look at her. She has a frilled tutu framing her navel gem, and her hair is fluffy and billows around her cheekbones like a cloud.

She recognises Rose and freezes.

“It's you,” she says stiffly. Rose offers a half-smile.

“These are better circumstances than last time,” she jokes. Pink Diamond's pearl fails to see the humour in the situation and casts a warning glance at Pearl.

“Why did you bring me here?” she demands, although her voice comes out softly, still terrified to raise her voice around a quartz.

“Rose Quartz has healing powers,” Pearl says softly, releasing her hold on Pink Diamond's pearl's arm. “She thinks she may be able to help your gem.”

She flinches like she's been struck, and her hands rush to hide it. Rose has already seen it though, and the murkiness of it feels like a blow to her own gem.

“It's okay,” Rose says, gently, kneeling down so she is at level with the pearl's gem. “I won't hurt you. I want to help.”

Pearl hovers nervously beside her, waiting for one or the other to make a wrong step, or for the Diamonds themselves to walk out of the meeting and catch them in the act. They're still yelling though, loudly, and it sounds like Pink Diamond may be having a meltdown that involves lots of tears and lots of cursing out White Diamond as being a star-forsaken fool who only cares about being the meanest space-wench in the universe. If this wasn't such a dire situation, Rose would laugh to hear Her Diamond mouthing off.

“My gem is fine,” Pink Diamond's pearl says, trying to sound haughty, but her voice trembles. She knows the gig is up.

“She can help you,” insists Pearl. She glances between the pearl and Rose, before staring down at the floor. “I've overheard the agates saying she's the best at healing, so...”

Even if Rose knows it's for both of their own goods, it stings.

“So you left without White Diamond's permission to retrieve her,” the pearl says coldly. “That's... that's treasonous.”

“I want to help you,” protests Pearl, hugging her torso protectively. “You know what Pink Diamond will say if she finds out.”

Pink Diamond's pearl visibly pales, and Rose can see the tremor in her hands.

“Okay,” she whispers. “This is... this is for My Diamond. It would be troublesome for her to have a pearl imported to such a remote location.”

_This is for you too,_ Rose wants to say. _There's no shame in valuing your life._

But Pearl sees, and shakes her head at her, so Rose bites her tongue and nods instead. The tears come easily enough.

To the amazement of all three of them, the luster returns to the pearl's gem in a soft pink glow, and the way her eyes fill with tears as she examines Rose's handiwork spreads joy throughout her whole form. Her healing tears are more than a burden on her emotional health, forcing her to watch humans cry in pain and bleed out in her arms; they can be used for good. They can bring hope to gems who were long beyond believing.

She quietly thanks Rose Quartz and stiffly heads back to her post, glancing back at Pearl wordlessly before turning the corner.

“I'm sure she suspects I know you better than through word of mouth,” Pearl sighs, but her mood isn't dampened for long. She has an impossibly wide grin on her face, and Rose wants to kiss it right off.

“Well, she's letting you kiss me goodnight, isn't she?” Rose teases, picking Pearl up and tossing her slightly. Pearl erupts into giggles, barely concealed behind her hands, and she hugs Rose tight.

“Rose! You were magnificent, and you were right! She's going to live because of you!”

“It was a joint effort,” Rose corrects giddily. She presses a clumsy kiss against Pearl's cheek, blowing a slight raspberry just to hear her laugh more. When their laughter dies down, she sets Pearl back on her feet. “I wouldn't have been able to help her without you. You brought me to her. You vouched for me when she was unsure.”

Pearl takes Rose's hands in her own.

“You are meant for greater things than this place, Rose Quartz. I hope... I hope someday you'll get out, even if I'm gone by then.”

“Wherever I go, you're coming with me,” Rose promises her, squeezing her delicate hands.

She needs Pearl to know just how sincere she is. Maybe they won't make it a reality in this century, not while their diamonds are keeping them busy, but there's always Earth, the sweetest of escapes that they've been waiting for. If she can just buy them more time... gather more allies...

“Don't get ahead of yourself now,” Pearl says lightly, more bravely than Rose would have been able to in her shoes. She reluctantly releases her hold on Rose's hands. “I should go.”

“I'll miss you, renegade,” Rose calls, as Pearl begins to walk away, a Diamond's pearl once more. “Don't go getting cracked without me there, okay?”

She turns back, offers a smile so full of mischief it could trigger a supernova, and turns the corner.

A voice over the intercom orders a shift change, and Rose heads back towards the cubbies, nodding at Candy as they pass in the hallway.

She's getting out of this place and taking Pearl with her, Diamonds be damned.

 

**Author's Note:**

> SO THAT PINK DIAMOND FACE REVEAL HUH  
> Now that we know PD was the equivalent of a bratty kid, it's safe to say the human zoo was like her barbie dreamhouse... that's pretty fucked up...


End file.
